Unit 10. The City of London: its past and present 


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Unit 10. The City of London: its past and present



London has been an important centre for finance for many years and the City is the financial centre of London. It contains the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and hundreds of insurance, banking and finance companies. This goes back to the 12th century when Lombards - moneylenders from Lombardy - settled in London.

A Lombard meant a native of Lombardy in Italy, whose ancestors were the Germanic people who conquered Italy in the 6th century. This term was applied in the Middle Ages to bankers, moneylenders, and pawnbrokers, many of whom were from Lombardy or elsewhere in north Italy. Italian bankers played an im­portant part in financing the English Crown in the 13th and 14th centuries. In return for their loans, such firms as the Riccardi of Lucca and the Frescobaldi of Florence received substantial gifts and a variety of business privileges.

Italian bankers received gifts because the charging of interest on a loan of money was forbidden by medieval cannon law and punishable in the ecclesiastical courts. Interest on loans, such as those made by Italian bankers to the Crown in the late-13th and 14th centuries, was thus paid in other forms until legally permitted in the 16th century.

Dislike for these advantages, their power, and their association with unpopular government policies at the beginning of the 14th century culminated

I the expulsion of the Frescobaldi by the Lords Ordainers-the committee f 21 lords that Edward II was forced to appoint in 1311. The strain of heavy oyal borrowing brought the collapse of the Riccardi in 1294 and of the Bardi ind Peruzzi of Florence in the mid-14th century.

Many Italian bankers occupied premises in what became Lombard Street, in London.

The City covers one square mile in the centre of modern London. This is the area of the original city of Londinium founded by the Romans around AD 50. It remained the same for a thousand years until the Normans came from France in 1066. William the Conqueror gave the Saxons in the City a special Charter, and the City is still independent from the rest of London. It has its own council called the Corporation of the City of London, its own Lord Mayor and its own police force.

Until very recently, the area was the home of the «City gent» with a black bowler hat and a tightly rolled umbrella; the bowler is rarely seen today. In contrast to the entertainment district in the West End of London, the City is almost deserted at night. Although hundreds of thousands of people work in its offices by day, only about eight thousand actually live within the square mile.

The City is very rich and has a lot of influence. The term «the City» is often used to refer to the financial world in Britain in general. But to many observers the City seems increasingly independent of the British domestic economy: in fact, the City is central to international finance. When London was an imperial capital, the City was its financial heart, but in the age of telecommunications, the City could be situated anywhere.

Notes and Commentary

the Bank of England - Банк Англии; государственный центральной эмиссионный банк: основан в 1694 году; национализирован в 1946 году the Stock Exchange - Лондонская фондовая биржа a Lombard - ломбардиец; уроженец или житель области Ломбардия вИталии

the Germanic people - зд. германские племена the Middle Ages - средние века the (English) Crown - зд. королевская власть the Lords Ordainers - Лорды «реформаторы»; составители свода законов, ограничивающих власть короля (в целях установления баронами контроля над правительством)

Edward II-Эдвард II (1284-1327), король Англии (1307-1327) the Romans - римляне (римское завоевание Британии: середина I в. - начало V в. н.э.)

around AD (Anno Domini) 50 - лат. приблизительно в 50-м году нашей эры

the Normans - норманны (норманнское завоевание Британии под предводительством Вильгельма Завоевателя, William the Conqueror, началось после разгрома англо-саксов под Гастингсом в 1066 году)

a Charter - королевский указ

the Corporation of the City of London - Совет («парламент») Сити Лондона

Lord Mayor of the City of London - лорд-мэр Сити Лондона

the West End of London - Весг-Энд Лондона; район театров, музеев, аттракционов, увеселительных заведений

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Answer the questions.

1. When did the City become the financial centre of London?

2. When was it legally permitted to charge interest on a loan of money?

3. Why did the Lords Ordainers expel some of the well-known Lombards?

4. In the 11th century, William the Conqueror granted a special Charter to the City of London, didn't he? What are the consequences of that grant?

5. What was the image of the City until very recently?

Exercise 2. Match the English words with their Russian equivalents.

1. stock exchange A. кредитор; ростовщик
2. finance (n) B. канон (закон) церкви
3. moneylender (n) C. банкир
4. banker (n) D. юридически; легально
5. pawnbroker (n) E. финансы
6. loan (n) F. фондовая биржа
7. legally (adv) G. экономика страны
8. borrowing (n) H. ростовщик
9. domestic economy I. заем
10. cannon law J. заем

Exercise 3. Find the Russian equivalents of the following.

The strain of heavy royal borrowing; to charge interest on a loan of money; to be central to international finance; medieval cannon law; to refer to the financial world; to conquer a country; the home of the «City gent»; to receive a variety of business privileges.

Exercise 4. Find the English equivalents of the following.

Столица империи; поселиться (обосноваться) в Лондоне; быть пустын­ными ночью; получать богатые подарки; играть важную роль; финансовый центр; процент с займа; быть наказуемым в церковных судах.

Exercise 5. Translate in written paragraphs 2 and 3 of the text beginning with the words «A Lombard meant...» and ending with the words «... in the 16th century». When translating, please keep in mind the norms of the Russian language.

Exercise 6. Fill in the correct word or phrase from the list below. Use the words or phrases only once.

Police; moneylenders; insurance; the City; bowler; Bank; premises.

1) The...of England
2) Force...
3) a black... hat
4) .. from Lombardy
5) ... of London
6) to occupy...
7) An... company

Exercise 7. Fill in the correct preposition.

1) to be deserted... night

2) dislike...something

3) to be independent... the British domestic economy

4) to go back... the 12m century

5) to live... the square mile

6) in return... something

7) to refer... the financial world

Exercise 8. Say whether these sentences are true or false and explain why. Rewrite false statements to make them true.

1. The charging of interest on a loan of money was allowed in the 12th

century.

2. The City is only dependent on the British domestic economy.

3. The importance of the City as a financial centre goes back to the time when Lombards settled in London.

4. The territory of the City occupies half of modern London.

5. There are few residential houses in the City.

Exercise 9. Choose all the words that are appropriate in answering the questions.

A. Is the City the financial centre of London?

B. Who and what were Lombards?

Pawnbrokers, the Bank of England, north Italy, the Middle Ages, Lombards, moneylenders, finance, business privileges, banks, insurance and finance companies, the Stock Exchange, the English Crown, substantial gifts, a native of Lombardy.

Exercise 10. Look through the text again and write down ways to describe the situation concerning the expulsion of some of the Lombards from Britain.

Exercise 11. From the text, select those facts and ideas concerning the role of the City of London in Britain and all over the world (in written form).

Exercise 12.

A. Say what the UNIT is about. Comment on the content of the text (orally).

B. Present the general idea of the text in five-six sentences in written form.

 

UNIT 11. AMERICAN ECONOMY

THE WELFARE STATE: FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The United State of America is the world's greatest economic power in terms of both Gross National Product and per capita GNP, with its exports accounting for more than 10% of all world trade.

Although the importance of industrial production is falling and that of services growing (as in most of Western Europe), the United States remains the world's greatest maker of industrial goods and around 20 million Americans are still employed in manufacturing.

The industrial heart of the nation is the Midwest around the Great Lakes, especially in the region stretching from southern Michigan through Northern Ohio and into the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania. Another important industrial region is the Northeast, which is the home of the major computer

manufacturers. Service industries are also very important in this region and New York is the country's banking and insurance capital. The nation's fastest growing region, however, is the Southeast, where the chemical industry and high-technology industries are now catching up with the traditional textile industry as many firms exploit the warm climate and low labor costs.

47 per cent of the land area ofthe United States is farmland, ofwhich 152 million hectares are harvested cropland and 560 million hectares are permanent pastureland. And yet, only 6.2 million people live on the nation's farms and today farmers make up a little more than 2 per cent of the American population.

The American farmer's success is one ofthe less publicized wonders ofthe 20th century. By the mid-1970s a single farmer could grow enough food to feed himself, forty five other Americans, and eight foreigners. Agriculture is one of the biggest and most basic productive enterprises. It feeds the nation and supplies raw materials to most industries. In a single year farmers in the United States grow crops valued at some $25 billion.

The ever intensifying production has exacted its price. In an attempt to stabilize farm income, the US Government has paid farmers billions of dollars in the past decade. Spokesmen for the consumers have charged farmers and the food-processing industry with sacrificing nutrition and taste in their efforts to mass-produce meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, and grain products.

Much ofthe machinery on US farms is automated, computers determine what animals eat. Such technology costs money. In 1940 American farmers invested about 552 billion in land, livestock, buildings, and equipment. By the 1990s the amount had climbed to more than $400 billion, even though farms had dropped in number from 6 million to fewer that 3 million. Many people had to sell their small family farms because they could not find the necessary capital to run them. Nevertheless, about 95 per cent of US farms are still family owned, although nowadays they tend to be large and are often incorporated. Meanwhile, true corporation farms, supervised by boards of directors and professional managers, are increasing in number. The number of American farms is expected to be cut in half, to about 1.5 million, while the amount of cultivated land will remain about the same. Farm output, however, will probably double.

Some agriculturists envision a future where weather will be made to order, robots will operate the farm machinery, millions of identical cattle will be produced as clones from a single superior «parent», and crops will grow lush and green under a pollution-free sky. It is a fairy tale, but the truth is that the amazing productivity of American farmers has ensured that much of the world will have enough to eat for the next 20 or 30 years.

Notes and Commentary

the Midwest, the Great Lakes, Michigan, Northern Ohio, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Northeast, the Southeast - названия регионов на территории Соединенных Штатов Америки (Средний Запад, район Великих Озер, Мичиган, Северный Огайо, Питтсбург, Пенсиль­вания, северо-восточный регион, юго-восточный регион)

New York - Нью Йорк, крупнейший город США

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Answer the questions.

1. In what terms is the United State of America the world's greatest economic power?

2. Why is the Southeast the nation's fastest growing region?

3. What measures does the US Government take in an attempt to stabilize farm in come?

4. Will farm output fall if the number of American farms is cut in half?

Exercise 2. Match the English words with their Russian equivalents.

1. power (п)
2. Gross National Product
  (GNP)
3. per capita
2. exports (n, pi)
3. trade (n)
4. industrial (a)
5. manufacture (v)
6. manufacturing (n)
7. manufacturer (n)
8. low labor costs
9. farmland (n)

10. cropland (n)

11. pastureland (n)

12. productive (a)

13. supply (v)

A. экспорт

B.поставлять

C. земля, используемая для сельскохозяйственных нужд

D. промышленный

E. производство

F. дешевая рабочая сила

G. валовой национальный продукт (ВНП)

H. земля под пастбище

I. государство, держава; власть J. прибыль, доход

К. производитель, компания - производитель; фабрикант L. торговля

М. на душу населения N. производить (товары в промышленном масштабе) О.потребитель

14. income (n)

15. consumer (n)

16. food-processing industry

17. capital (n)

P. менеджер-профессионал Q. совет директоров R. пищевая промышленность S. чистый, незагрязненный (об окружающей среде) Т. земля под зерновые культуры

18. incorporated (corporation) farms

19. board of directors

U. корпоративные, фермерские хозяйства

20. professional manager

21. pollution-free

V. капитал

W. производственный; продук тивный, приносящий прибыль

Exercise 3. Find the Russian equivalents of the following.

To mass-produce products; one ofthe less publicized wonders; to envision a future; the industrial heart of the nation; to exact production price; a single superior «parent»; spokesmen forthe consumers; the home ofthe major computer manufacturers; to run small family farms; to make up half of the population.

Exercise 4. Find the English equivalents of the following.

Простираться от Мичигана до Пенсильвании; постоянно возраста­ющее производство; поставлять сырье; прокормить себя; увеличить в два раза объем производства; уменьшить в количественном отноше­нии; доход фермеров; производитель промышленных товаров.

Exercise 5. On a separate sheet of paper, translate from English into Russian Paragraph 7 ofthe text beginning with the words «Much of the machinery...» and ending with the words «... will probably double». When translating, please keep in mind the norms of the Russian language.

Exercise 6. Fill in the correct word or phrase from the list below. Use the words or phrases only once.

Amazing; feed; farm income; fairy; banking; industrial; to sacrifice.

1)... and insurance capital

2) to stabilize....

3) the... productivity of American farmers

4)... nutrition and taste

5) a... tale

6) growing... region

7) to... the nation

Exercise 7. Fill in the correct preposition.

1) to drop... number

2)... terms of something

3) to cut.. half

4) to catch up... something

5) to account... ten per cent

6)... an attempt to do something

7) to supply raw materials... most industries

8) to charge someone... something

Exercise 8. Say whether these sentences are true or false and explain why. Rewrite false statements to make them true.

1. Many people in the US run their small family farms because they have the necessary capital.

2. The Midwest is the home of the major computer manufacturers.

3. Services are becoming more important than industrial production.

4. The productivity of American farmers is falling and soon the world will have nothing to eat.

5. In the Southeast, the traditional textile industry gives way to the chemical industry and high-technology industries.

Exercise 9. Look through the text again and write down ways to describe what different regions of the USA are famous for.

1. The Northeast

2. The Southeast

3. New York

Exercise 10. In the text, find figures characterizing different aspects of US economy. In the space below, write down the amount, the number, the percentage and the related information.

How much?

1. A single farmergrows enough food to....

2. US exports account for...

3. At present, the number of American farms is....

4. Farmland makes up....

5. Thanks to the US farmers, the world....

Exercise 11. From the text, select those facts and ideas concerning the American farmers' success (in written form).

Exercise 12.

A Say what the text is about. Comment on the content of the text (orally).

B. Present the general idea of the text in five-six sentences. Do it in written form.

 



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